Lawmakers Urge U.S. to Stand Against Brunei's Antigay Penal Code

Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin has drafted a letter, supported by 20 House members, urging the United States to exclude Brunei from free trade talks until its human rights violations are addressed.

BY Daniel Reynolds

May 23 2014 3:40 PM ET

Hassanal Bolkiah and John Kerry

A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers is urging the United States to politically pressure the Southeast Asian nation of Brunei to rescind its antigay penal code.

Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin has received pledges from at least 20 other lawmakers on Capitol Hill, who have agreed to sign a draft letter asking Secretary of State John Kerry and U.S. trade representative Michael Froman to exclude Brunei from Pacific free trade talks until its human rights violations are addressed, reports Buzzfeed.

"The United States is committed to protecting the rights of religious minorities, LGBT individuals and women across the globe,” the draft reads. “Brunei’s adoption of the revised penal code legalizes violence against its citizens, constituting torture or other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment. The United States must make it clear that we will not tolerate such abuses.”

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a proposed trade agreement of 12 nations, including the United States and Brunei, that is currently under negotiation. Pocan and other lawmakers, including Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Louise Slaughter, Rosa DeLauro, and Henry Waxman, want the U.S. to use its economic clout to “address human rights atrocities” like those in Brunei.

“As the world’s largest economy, the United States holds a significant place in world affairs and must use this position to address human rights atrocities in countries like Brunei,” the letter concludes. “According with all applicable rules and regulations, we urge you to insist that Brunei address these human rights violations as a condition before the United States enter into any trade negotiations."

State Department officials recently told Buzzfeed that Brunei’s laws would not factor into the trade talks, but the U.S. will be “closely monitoring how new rules” in Brunei will be executed.